Our Story begins in
July of 1999. That is when my husband and I found
out we were expecting our first child. We were very
excited. My first appointment was at 9 weeks, and
everything looked good. I was near the end of my
first trimester, so I felt like I could relax. At
my next appointment my blood pressure was high, but
upon rechecking it before I left it was back down.
I guess I was just nervous. We were able to hear
the heartbeat that day! What a wonderful sound, it was
good and strong. At that appointment I also found out
I had an urinary tract infection, which I was given
antibiotics for. At this point everything was going okay. I was beginning to feel the stretching on my sides, which could be a bit uncomfortable at times, but I didn't mind, it was for a great cause! My next appointment was fairly routine. My UTI had cleared up and the baby's heartbeat still sounded good and strong.They were however keeping an eye on my blood pressure as it was not high but starting to creep up on us. As the days went by I soon started feeling more "growing" pains. Even though people assured me that what I was feeling was normal, I began to feel that something wasn't right. It was Saturday and I decided I would call the doctor and Monday (now I wish I had called right then). On Sunday morning I went to the bathroom and saw some blood, well this just terrified me, I went straight to the phone to call the doctor. While I was on the phone I felt a gush and assumed it was blood. I was told to go to the hospital. When I got there they took me to labor and delivery, and they checked to see if my cervix was dilated, which is was not. The baby's heartbeat still sounded good as well. They felt that my water had broken and when I was checked via ultrasound it was confirmed that my water did indeed break. I also had a very bad UTI. I was given no chance of my baby surviving. Labor was induced the next morning (I sometimes wonder if we shouldn't have waited). I was told that it could take awhile, and was prepared for a long day, but just a short five and a half hours later my son Luke was born still at 12:25 p.m. He weighed 11oz. and was 10 1/2 inches long. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, give birth when I knew my baby would not make it.
When I went back to the doctor I was disappointed, I was told they could not give me a reason as to why this happened. Also they felt like it was "one of those fluke" things and my next pregnancy should be fine. The few tests they ran on me I had to ask for, I really felt like they didn't want to help me. I guess I was a little naive then and didn't go to seek a second opnion about my loss, or to search for answers.
On October 17, 2000 I found out I was pregnant again. I was very happy and scared at the same time. I had new doctors this time because my husband and I had moved to another state. I made sure to let them know exactly what had happened with Luke. I felt confident that the slightest problem would be taken care of. I was checked via ultrasound on my first visit, and because of my recurrent UTI's last time they took a culture my first visit as well. The day after my first visit I had some bleeding and was terrified that I was miscarrying. When I saw my doctors we found that the baby was doing just fine. I was so relieved, I felt like I had a fighter! This pregnancy seemed to be going well. I had an ultrasound at 19 weeks and I was told it looked very good. I also had the AFP test done which came back negative. I was feeling pretty positive. When I made it past the point when I lost Luke I felt better, but was still scared. When I was 23 weeks pregnant I awoke one night to a wet bed. The nightmare that I had been trying not to think about was happening. My water broke again. I went to the hospital where I was admitted and put on total bedrest and given antibiotics. I had developed gestational diabetes and after a few days I was put on insulin. After one week of being in the hospital an ultrasound was done and it showed no more fluid than when I was admitted. I do not know why, but I still had hope. Later that same night I started having contractions, but they subsided. I awoke about 5 hours later to much more stronger and persistent contractions. I was in labor. I gave birth to my son, and heard his faint cry. At first he was the fighter I knew him to be, but before I could see him he took a turn for the worst. I knew when my husband and I were allowed to see him during "quiet time" that he was not going to make it. Just a short 15 hours after he was born he left us while in my husband's arms. I was devastated, I had already buried one son,now I would have to bury another. I treasure the few moments I had with him, but grieve his loss everyday. As I write this I am still searching for answers.
*Update* March 21, 2002: I still have not found answers as to why my water has broken twice, although we have come closer. I HAVE found out that I have recurrences of Bacterial Vaginosis, which is a vaginal infection that can cause problems in pregnancy like I have suffered. I became pregnant again in July of 2001 (much sooner than we actually planned!). My doctors kept up on keeping me free of BV, I was treated for it 3 times! I once again developed gestational diabetes, and was put on insulin. In January at 28 weeks I went into labor. The doctors put on medication to stop my labor, but I developed an infection and they had no choice but to let me progress on. On January 20, 2002 my daughter was born weighing in at 2 lbs. 8 oz. At this time she is still in the hospital and doing well. We anticipate being able to bring her home soon.
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